Levi's spikes 31% as it returns to the public market

Levi Strauss & Co. began trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The blue-jean maker returned to the public market after an absence of more than three decades.

Its trading debut comes amid a host of fresh initial public offerings, as Lyft, Uber, Airbnb, and a plethora of other companies are getting set to debut.

Levi Strauss & Co., the iconic 166-year-old blue-jean maker, returned to the public market with a bang on Thursday following a three-decade absence.

Levi's opened at $22.22 per share — 30% higher than the $17 a share where the offering priced on Wednesday evening.

Shares of the San Francisco-based company now trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "LEVI."

Levi's aims to become the second-largest clothing and accessories IPO since at least 2001, according to an IHS Markit analysis, and the oldest such company to list on a US exchange since that year.

To pay homage to the debut, the New York Stock Exchange suspended its "no jeans allowed" policy for Thursday's trading session. In fact, a poster serving as a reminder at the exchange read "Wear BOTH your Jean Jacket & Jeans."

CNBC's Bob Pisani said on Thursday morning that the amount of denim at the NYSE looked a lot like "Woodstock '69."

https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1108718113586057216

While the company was founded in 1853, the first pair of blue jeans was invented two decades later, in 1873.

Levi's return to the public market comes during a red-hot time for IPOs, as companies like Lyft, Uber, Airbnb, and Pinterest are expected to debut later this year.

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bank of America were among the offering's underwriters.